Ray of hope || by Elin Moon

Chapter 0: It was good

When I wake up, the sun is high up in the sky. My eyes are puffy, and my head aches fiercely. I look over to Dipsy, who's still asleep, tightly clutching my hand. I remove my sweaty hand from his, and hop out of bed. I look over the other two beds, and find them empty, one done neatly and the other left in disarray. I look around the dome. It seems Tink and Po have not only woken up, but left the house. How long have I slept?

I walk to the door, my feet making loud thumps against the cold, metal floor. The door automatically opens, letting the warm breeze hit my shivering body. I walk into the sunlight, taking in the colourful blooms and the fluffy rabbits hopping about the grass freely. I look up into the sky, where there are only a few clouds littered about, and the ones that are there are white and fluffy. I let the warmth envelope my body as I enjoy the view of my home at it's best. I love the nice weather, it's a great time to play outside with my ball. I look around and easily spot it; a bright orange ball tucked right between vibrant green bushes and the dome. I want to go retrieve it, but something else is on my mind. The dream.

The dream. It still haunts me, even on such a lovely day. The dark, cold nothingness, the silence, the echo of my voice, that moving shadow hurling towards me while my friends lie lifelessly on the floor. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a chill goes down my spine. Why can't I just forget it? Why can't it go away? My head hurts.

I lean against a tree trunk, hiding underneath the soft shade of the tree branches. I close my eyes, blocking out the world until I forget. It's dark, but unlike in the dream, it's calming. If only I wasn't so alone.

"Laa Laa!" I hear from behind my closed eyelids. I hear the sound of footsteps against dirt and rocks, followed by shuffling through grass and flowers. I peek open my eyes and see Tink standing in front of me, a shining smile on his face, his blue eyes sparkling with joy. I try to smile back, but I can't seem to be my cheery self today, no matter how hard I try.

"Hey, Tink." I say, taking note that he'd grabbed my toy ball at some point and is now bouncing it up and down.

"Morning, Laa! Or should I say, afternoon." he chuckles, nudging me with his elbow. "You and Dip slept in. Speaking of which, is Dipsy awake?" he says, throwing my ball towards me. I catch it with practiced ease before I answer.

"No, I let him sleep." I state simply. Tink groans.

"He ALWAYS sleeps in! No matter how early he goes to bed, he HAS to sleep in! He might as well become nocturnal and sleep during the day!" Tink yelled, rubbing his temple with his hands, a sign he's annoyed. I look at the ground, at the pretty, white daisies dancing in the light breeze.

Tink must notice my mood, because I can feel his gaze on me.

"Hey, are you alright?" He touches my shoulder. I drop my ball and look back up at him, my smile long gone from my face. No, I'm not alright, but there's too much to explain to him. The dream, that shadow, the killer headache I'm having today, all adding up to make me feel miserable. I don't want to tell him that. I've already burdened Dipsy with my problems last night, and many nights before that. However, I don't want to lie to his face and say I'm perfectly fine. I look back at the ground. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" he says. I sigh.

"I had a bad dream last night." I say, looking at the sky now. Anything to not look Tink in the eyes. I don't want to tell him what happened in the dream, I might start crying again. "I'd rather not talk about it, though. Not now." I say, rubbing my arm.

"If you say so." Tink says, patting my shoulder. "If you need me, I'll be looking for Po, right after I wake up the Dipstick. It's dinner time soon." I nod. He walks away. I hear the door to the dome slide open, then close a few seconds later. I heave out a sigh.